Naomi made blackberry pie this week. The blackberries were gathered on our land at the end of last summer. We have been using this fruit in our vegetable smoothies and, naturally, pies. Click on the image for a larger and more mouthwatering view or continue reading for the recipe. Continue reading
Category Archives: Edible Garden
This Year’s Tomatoes
We are going through the annual ritual of starting the garden. With the short Maine summer and unpredictable spring, many plants need a little help. With about one hundred tomato plants, it gets crowded in the house as they grow and need replanting. However, it is well worth the effort as they give us a year’s supply of their wonderful fruit. Click on the image for a larger view.
St. John’s Wort—Edible Weeds
St. John’s Wort, Hypericum perforatum, is native to Europe, but is found in abundance in the US. In some places, it is considered a pernicious weed. If you introduce this plant to your garden, it can be hard to control.
We use the leaves and flowers: fresh for salads and dried for tea. St. John’s Wort is said to help mild depression. We find the tea very relaxing.
Some people can have a reaction to St. Johns Wort—nausea, diarrhea, headaches, photodermatitis—and it can interfere with some medications; please consult your doctor. Always research plants you intend to consume. You should consider our posts a starting point, not a definitive source of information.
Purslane—Edible Weeds
Purslane, Portulaca oleracea, is known as pursley in Maine. The stems and leaves are edible. The seeds can also be used for flour. Purslane can be cooked like spinach. Like spinach, it is rich in iron. We like to use it fresh in salads and smoothies. Unlike many wild plants, Purslane is not bitter and the leaves have a wonderful texture.
WARNING: Purslane can be confused with the poisonous hairy-stemmed spurge. As the name suggests, this plant has a hairy stem. A milky saps is discharged when a stem cutting is squeezed. It is important to refer to guidebooks or local foraging experts to identify plants. Please look at our posts as starting points, not as definitive references on plants.
Sulfur Cinquefoil—Wild Flowers
Sulfur Cinquefoil or Rough-fruited Cinquefoil, Potentilla recta, is native to Eurasia, probably originating in the Mediterranean. The plant was introduced to North America where it has thrived.
Yarrow—Edible Weeds
It is important to refer to guidebooks or local foraging experts to identify plants. Please look at our posts as starting points, not as definitive references on plants.
Yarrow, Achillea millefolium, is well known as a medicinal herb. The leaves are bitter, but can be eaten raw or cooked; we put young leaves in a smoothies with other greens. We use the flowers to make tea as well as a vodka tincture we add to tea. For bug bites and cuts, we make a tincture with the flowers and leaves.
Lamb’s-Quarters—Edible Weeds
It is important to refer to guidebooks or local foraging experts to identify plants. Please look at our posts as starting points, not as definitive references on plants. Some medical conditions can be complicated by wild plants.
Lamb’s-quarters, Chenopodium album, also known as pigweed, goose foot, and wild spinach, has edible leaves and seeds. While the leaves can be eaten raw, it is not recommend to eat large quantities as the leaves contain saponins. Cooking reduces these. Cooking also reduces the oxalic acid content. The leaves can be harvested from mid-spring into the fall.
The leaves are a good spinach substitute. We add fresh leaves to salads and smoothies. We dry or freeze the leaves for winter to add to smoothies. Like spinach, we steam and sauté the stems and leaves, or add them to soups. In Japan, lamb’s-quarter is also recognized as an edible wild plant. The young leaves are boiled and marinated with sesame seed or peanut butter dressings.
The seeds are very nutritious and can be ground into flour. We have found the seeds to be really small and difficult to harvest. The seeds aren’t wasted: our population of wild birds love them.
White Clover—Edible Weeds
White clover, Trifolium repens, has its flowering head on separate stalks from its leaves. We make tea from the flowers of a variety of clover in our garden. We have found the white clover to be the sweetest. We also add the flower to salads and smoothies.
Before the clover flowers, the young leaves can be used in salads and soups, but we find them too bitter. We have heard that the dried leaves can be used as a vanilla substitute for baking—something we wish to try this summer.
Rabbit-Foot Clover—Edible Weeds
Rabbit-foot clover, Trifolium ravens, is one of the five varieties we have found in our garden. It can grow to a height of around 18 in/45 cm. Like many clover, rabbit foot clover is edible. The young leaves and flowers can be used in salads, as cooked greens, dried as tea, or ground into flour. Clover is rich in protein. We have never found the leaves to be that appetizing. We use dried or raw flowers for tea or add them to muffins or bread for a richer flavor. The dried flowers and seeds can be ground into flour, but we simply find mixing them into whole-wheat flour easier.
Blue Wood Lettuce—Edible Weeds
Wild lettuce comes in many varieties and is hard to identify. It is important to refer to guidebooks or local foraging experts to identify plants. Please look at our posts as starting points, not as definitive references on plants.
Blue wood lettuce or tall blue lettuce, Lactuca biennia, is a common species of wild lettuce. The accounts we have read are contradictory: some say it is edible, some not. The leaves can be very bitter. We use very young leaves in smoothies with other greens. We do not eat this very often.
Like the Canada wild lettuce, this can grow to great heights. The flowering head is very different from Canada wild lettuce.
Hakusan Creation cannot take responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant or consuming unknown or wild plants.
